It’s the start of new college semester! While many colleges and university students in Pennsylvania and New Jersey went back last week, the remainder will return to class tomorrow. College is sometimes referred to as the best four (4) years of a young person’s life. It is an opportunity to meet new people, find some independence, and to build the start of hopefully a great future in a chosen profession.

How Well Do You Know Your Roommate?

For some, however, the “college experience” brings more than just new friends and the opportunity to enter an upwardly mobile profession. Students, especially, those who live off campus in houses and apartments in their junior and senior years, sometimes find themselves in legal trouble. While most of these problems center on summary offenses like underage drinking, disorderly conduct (parties), there are situations where student find themselves charged with misdemeanor and even felony offenses. A conviction for any offense, even a summary offense, can substantially derail a bright future or limit opportunities for years to come.

From years of defending college students charged with summary to felony offenses, I recommend that students and their parents always know as much as possible about roommates. Frequently students are anxious to move off campus for extra freedom and even to sometimes save money. This motivation causes them to sometimes advertise a house for rent with others. While I’m not totally against this type of advertisement, I recommend living with persons who you know rather than strangers even if they go to the same school. Anything that occurs in the house opens all its occupants to civil and criminal liability.

3 Ways To Deal With a Roommate Who Is Committing Crimes

If you think your roommate is doing something illegal, I recommend 3 different courses of action